Stevens, a World War II veteran, held the distinction of having served longer than any other Republican senator -- from December 1968 to January 2009. The end of his tenure in the senate was marred by a federal indictment that he violated ethics laws by not reporting gifts, and although he was found guilty, his conviction was later vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct.

In technology circles, Stevens will be remembered as a strong opponent of net neutrality and for his description of the Internet -- during debates on that topic -- as a series of tubes, akin to pneumatic tubes used to zip memos around office buildings and factories in the old days.

Stevens said: "And again, the Internet is not something that you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes. And if you don't understand, those tubes can be filled, and if they are filled, when you put your message in it gets in line, and it's going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material."

Bob Brown is a news editor for Network World, blogs about network research, and works most closely with our staff's wireless/mobile reporters. Follow him on Twitter at Alphadoggs and connect via email at bbrown@nww.com